Wade Phillips has signed a two-year contract to coach the Dallas Cowboys through 2011, it was announced this week. Guided by Phillips, the Cowboys have won two NFC East titles in three years and only two weeks ago they won their first playoff game since 1996, the season after they won their last Super Bowl.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has said that he is encouraged but not satisfied. “This contract represents that,” he commented. “Two years in the NFL is an eternity, but it has to be urgent and it has to be addressed as if there is no tomorrow. ... It addresses the urgency of where we want to go from here.”
Although Jones had repeatedly stated that he wanted to keep Phillips as coach, there was some speculation about it until Jones made it official. “We want to build on the foundation we have put in place over the last three years. I want to take advantage of the continuity.”
The new contract signed by the Cowboys and Phillips does not include an option once the two seasons end, as did the previous contract. “As long as the team knows I'm going to be here this year with this team, that's all I need as a coach,” Phillips commented. “It doesn't matter if it's one year or 10 years. With this team right now, I feel very comfortable. I think we can go further and we will go further.” During Phillip’s first season leading Dallas, the team was 13-3 and number one seed in the NFC before it lost its opening playoff game.
As to financial terms, Jones refused to discuss them and only said that the deal involved “serious money” and implied that the coach would receive a bonus in case the team reached the Super Bowl. “Is he being overpaid? Not one penny,” Jones said. “Is he being underpaid? Probably, for what I think he is. The bottom line is we have something that works and certainly is structured so that we have great incentive to do what he wants to lead us into doing any way, and that is ultimately get to that Super Bowl.”
The Dallas Cowboys have not won or reached a Super Bowl for fourteen seasons and since next season the Cowboys Stadium will host the Super Bowl, Jones wants to become the first host team to play in the big game.